National Grid has filed a proposal to amend its net-metering tariff — primarily by expanding its availability. These revisions, proposed pursuant to H. 8354, are designed primarily to:  (1) implement the new law’s provision explicitly allowing 3rd-party ownership and 3rd-party financing, (2) provide that all energy generated is valued at the point on the distribution system at which a net-metering system is interconnected, (3) define the date on which the distribution charge is excluded from the calculation of the net-metering credit for public entities and multi-municipal collaborative systems, and (4) reflect the change — from 5 MW to 10 MW — in the maximum capacity for eligible net-metering systems.

The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources has filed a letter of support for National Grid’s tariff advice filing, having concluded that National Grid’s proposed revisions reflect the legislative amendments enacted by H. 8354. Likewise, the Division of Public Utilities filed a memo supporting National Grid’s proposed revisions, finding them to be consistent with the recent statutory revisions.

Rhode Island’s net-metering policy is already considered to be one of the best in the United States, having earned an “A” grade from the Freeing the Grid project (www.freeingthegrid.org) in 2015. The policy improvements resulting from H. 8354 will lift the grade even higher.